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Middle East Venture MEVP Invests In Online Travel Portal Wego

Dubai-based venture capital firm Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) has invested an undisclosed sum in online travel marketplace Wego in exchange for an equity ownership, the two companies jointly announced in a press release on Sunday.

The investment comes less than two months after the Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC Group) announced a similar undisclosed investment in Wego, which boasts 9.1 million application downloads.

Walid Hanna, Founder and CEO, MEVP

“Online travel in MENA is a large vertical and continues to grow rapidly aided by a shift in consumer behavior from offline to online. Wego is capitalizing on such favorable market dynamics and is already a leading travel brand that is highly recognized by travelers in the region, especially Saudi Arabia,” Walid Hanna, MEVP Founder and CEO, said.

“Wego has an exciting growth plan and with the support of MBC and MEVP, we believe it is well positioned to dominate the travel metasearch play in MENA,” he added.

Founded in Singapore in 2005, Wego currently has a second headquarter in Dubai after registering a rapid growth in the Middle East and North Africa region through its fully-localized experience.

With over 10 million monthly visits, Wego describes itself as the most popular and trusted travel comparison service in the region.

“With Wego’s rapid MENA expansion we decided to seek out smart investors from the region who have deep experience and connections and in MEVP we’ve definitely found that and more,” Ross Veitch, Wego CEO & Co-Founder, said.

“I welcome the MEVP investment and I look forward to working with the team at MEVP as we develop Wego’s business across the MENA region,” he added.

Other investors in Wego include Tiger Global Management, Crescent Point Group and Square Peg Capital.